From the Mouth of Sauron
Date: 05-31-95
Issue: E-33
Note: all authors retain exclusive rights to their material.
Reprinting is allowed for non-commercial game use only.
The Mouth is edited by Brian Mason and Tom Walton. All
correspondence can be sent to them at:
Brian Mason - mason@chara.gsu.edu
Tom Walton - kazandar@ix.netcom.com
Back issues of "From the Mouth of Sauron" and the general info files
are available at chara.gsu.edu via anonymous ftp.
First Word
==========
A few issues ago I encouraged our authors to take their work and
submit it to GSI's "Whispers" for print. The idea here was that you
could take a piece which you'd written for us - and received nothing
for it except the undying gratitude and adulation of the Mouth's
editors - and actually get something in return for your efforts,
like a free setup.
Well, Brian and I decided to take our own advice and are currently
re-writing some S&T's for publication (hopefully). While reviewing
the S&T's in question I started jumping around past editions of the
Mouth (laughing uproariously again over Leslie Foreman's articles -
how I miss her wit) and suddenly realized that the Mouth has been in
publication for two years this month. Taking into account that we
were off for about six months, we produced 33 issues in 18 months
time despite the constant and very unprofessional delays, which
overall isn't too bad as e-zines go.
So the odd number of issue 33 becomes the two-year anniversary
issue. We promise to do something special, like include a color
cover or something of the sort (grin). I thought of throwing in
some rather interesting .jpg files I used to create a torrid screen
saver for a co-worker (which I loaded onto his PC as a joke), but
they'd no doubt end up insulting quite a few people with more
conventional tastes. Boy, the stuff you can find on the net....
In any case, I'd once again like to thank all of you who contributed
in the past to the Mouth; without you we would've crashed and burned
a long time ago. I'd also like to thank those of you who went to
all the effort and trouble to load up the issues on various sites
for the enjoyment of others; it's always flattering to ftp to some
site and discover the Mouth in it's entirety sitting there, put up
by someone we don't know and has never emailed us but thought enough
of our rag to do the job.
On to mail lists, I recently had quite a few people unsubscribe as
they were leaving college and didn't know when they'd get a new
account or where. This reduced my direct mailout dramatically. I
also had another error with AOL on the way out, wherein the lists
were scrambled yet again on the last day. I tried to reconstruct
them, but I'm certain that some names were lost (please, don't point
out that I should keep everyone in a separate data file elsewhere;
I know that I'm inherently lazy and spaced out and that this pisses
off the people who suffer for it. But again, I don't get paid for
this so phhhhpt!). If you know of anyone who's wondering why the
hell they aren't getting the Mouth anymore, just tell them that Tom
- once again - blew his lists to hell. Also tell them that I'm off
AOL (those 12-step programs really work) and with luck this will
never happen again.
I hope you've enjoyed the last two years of the Mouth. Though the
production of the emag has often resulted in people seeing me
shouting and screaming at my computer, threatening to throw the
bloody thing out of my window if it didn't comply with my will, I've
always been happy with the end result. I don't do anything I don't
want to unless someone offers me an enormous stack of money, so the
fact that I'm still plugging away means that I must like what I'm
doing.
Tom
News from the Net
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #1
-------------------------------------------------------
From: prt1@merlin.etsu.edu (Philip R Tripp)
Subject: ME:Unknown 2950 Riddle
Date: 27 Apr 1995 20:40:45 GMT
My low-level emissary just got this encounter in the Mordor region.
Any clues?
(character) was hastening to take cover from a sudden and unseasonal
storm when she came across an overgrown (or perhaps hidden!) path.
Daring the unexpected opportunity as a welcome respite from the foul
weather, she followed the path, finding it to be both narrow and
broken. After a brief but difficult trek, she was relieved to enter
the small, hidden cave found at the path's end. To her surprise, the
cave provided not only shelter from the weather but also an
interesting discovery. In the center of the cave was an oblong block
of dark stone, engulfed in a faint transparent blue light that
covered the entire surface. Upon the stone lay something that did
not shine, but attracted her attentino nonetheless. The cave seemed
almost to be calling her. She couldn't tell what it was, and
certainly the item there was a powerful artifact, she thought, but
how might one breach the possible protections?
attack PHYSICALLY to drive off any gaurdians
attack MAGICALLY to dispel any wards
Creep forward silently and REMOVE the item from the stone block
Leap forward and STEAL the item from the stone block
WAIT and see if the shimmering light goes out
Declare your ALLEGIANCE
Say _________
FLEE
If no response from the net seems appropriate, I will respond WAIT
not really caring what happens to my green emissary. Look for what
happens two weeks from today...
-------------------------------------------------------
response from "Robert E. Bolin" (draugnar@iglou.com)
-------------------------------------------------------
What an INTERESTING encounter. It sounds kind of like the knife
that Merry (or was it Pippin) got out of the barrow wights. But
that is just a speculation.
-------------------------------------------------------
response from jeffrey460@aol.com (Jeffrey460)
-------------------------------------------------------
I waited with a low level dark servant Emmiasary and was killed by
a Druedain(Pukel-Man).
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #2
-------------------------------------------------------
From: hathomas@aol.com (HAThomas)
Subject: MEPBM 2950 Riddle Help
Date: 6 May 1995 12:35:35
Can anyone help with this riddle from MEPBM 2950?
To many it was simply fate,
and to others it was a symbol of hate.
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #3
-------------------------------------------------------
From: Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
Subject: MEPBM: Riddle
Date: 16 May 1995 10:25:15
I thought I had the answer to the following, but apparently not:
A gentle being made mad by ancient power
From the sun did he cravenly cower.
A miserable life of full of fearful loss
An extended life, but at what cost?
Following them, ever did follow he
Til he found a peaceful end to his long misery.
I've tried Smeagol and Frodo. Perhaps the ancient power is not the
One Ring? Any suggestions out there?
-------------------------------------------------------
response from johnb@wotangate.sc.ti.com (John Bach)
-------------------------------------------------------
Its been over 20 years since I read Lord of the Rings, and I don't
play MEPBM, but I seem to remember that this description fits Golum
(sp?) - that creature which had the One Ring through most of the
first couple books of the Trilogy, and travelled (followed) with
Frodo for awhile. Now that I think about it, the description fits
him perfectly - it must be him!
-------------------------------------------------------
response from phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves)
-------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps you're being too specific.
- Hobbits?
First thing I thought of was Smeagol too. Not a very peaceful end
though.
-------------------------------------------------------
response from ajm@MCS.COM (Alan Miller)
-------------------------------------------------------
Just out of curiousity, did you consider trying "Gollum"? If that's
also wrong, you _might_ try Bilbo, though I think that's stretching
it by a pretty long shot.
Also, Smeagol (and Deagol) weren't actually hobbits, but I can't
recall the actual name. Stoors perhaps?
-------------------------------------------------------
response from kgiven@aol.com (KGiven)
-------------------------------------------------------
I wouldn't try Gollum - you already have when you said Smeagol (g),
who by the way is a Hobbit ( a Stoor, one of the three subraces of
Hobbits).
I suspect the answer comes from the First Age material. My first
thought was Hurin (father of Turin Turambar & Nienor) - it fits
everything except the extended life part. Other possible answers
include Daeron or Gwindor.
-------------------------------------------------------
response from holzhauer@delphi.com (Jeff Holzhauer)
-------------------------------------------------------
I'd try Gollum. If the answer is Gollum, Smeagol should have worked
too, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they failed to think of
that. I guess that they might argue that the riddle only describes
Gollum, since he was Smeagol *before* being driven mad and cowering
from the sun.
-------------------------------------------------------
response from rkunkel@ix.netcom.com (Roland Kunkel )
-------------------------------------------------------
Smeagol he was...
Golem he became...
But what's in Name ?
-------------------------------------------------------
response from phy6drhj@ast.leeds.ac.uk (Dean Johnson)
-------------------------------------------------------
This sounds far more like Melkor himself.
-------------------------------------------------------
response from Ian Pearson (ian.pearson@bbsrc.ac.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------
What about Gollum ?
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #4
-------------------------------------------------------
From: darren@unity.ncsu.edu (Darren L Frechette)
Subject: MEPBM 2950 Riddle
Date: 18 May 1995 14:29:55 GMT
I followed an obscure trail and found a small subterranean cave
where the passage of time has seemed to stop. There is a sense of
power about the place. On one wall I see enscribed in runes and
glyphs of power:
It points south from the inner side of the high ground
With its own high heights and lower than low places.
It is known from afar that by greater magics it is bound
and that it awaited the return of its lord's dire graces.
Ideas?
-------------------------------------------------------
response from holzhauer@delphi.com (Jeff Holzhauer)
-------------------------------------------------------
I'd suggest Barad-dur.
1. Look at it on the map (3423).
2. It is written in the books as a tower (high) and
the crack the Ring was thrown into is there (low)
3. ????
4. Waited for Sauron's return from Dol Guldur
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #5
-------------------------------------------------------
From: KingLehr@aol.com
Subject: Re: #1(3) mouth_32
Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 16:40:23
I solved a riddle in the 2950 game. I don't know if anyone has had
it yet, but here it is:
Tenth by the first,
And tenth by the second,
Third by the third, yet always
thirty by all who reckon.
The answer was "Narquelie", the tenth month in the King's and
Steward's Reckonings.
-------------------------------------------------------
Post #6
-------------------------------------------------------
From: atischer@cse.utoledo.edu (August Tischer)
Subject: MEPBM 2950 Riddle
Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 16:14:25 GMT
I have had an encounter in the MEPBM 2950 game and wondered if
anyone else has successfully solved it. The character is at 2436 if
that helps any.
CHARACTER is at camp when a sudden chill passes through her and a
shadow momentarily obscures the stars overhead. Alert and ready for
action, she scanned the surrounding terrain but could see nothing.
Then from out of the night she heard a hollow voice. "Little do I
like finding others so near to where my errands take me. Speak,
lest I silence you forever."
ATTACK the speaker
Declare your ALLEGIANCE
INTERROGATE the speaker about the errand
APOLOGIZE for the intrusion
REQUEST information
WAIT and say nothing
Say _______ (only one word)
FLEE
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
A Short Clip
============
Tom's note: I received this from Dave in game 2950-22 following an
error in getting a turn in on time and thought to reprint it here.
Someone had blundered. The parties at Edoras had gone on almost to
the dawn, and with good reason, thought the Rohirrim. The fall of
the Cloud Lord and the Dog Lord, the coming invasion of Morgul Vale.
What red-blooded son or daughter of Eorl would not celebrate such
glad tidings?
The morning after, Medeuseld looked like a band of Noldor Elves had
hit it. Bodies slumped everywhere in alcolhol-induced catatonia.
Slowly, Theoden stirred, groaning and brushing crumbs out of his
beard. He whispered, for his head hurt too much to shoud, "Bring me
the messengers, I must issue orders to my commanders."
Eowyn staggered to the great hall's doors and flung them open,
letting in the bright morning sunlight. "My lord 'tis daytime. We
seem to have lost an entire day in our revels. The Dunlendings have
left. Our men are in no condition to follow."
Theoden moaned again, cupping his head in his hands to keep it from
splitting apart. Oh the disgrace of it all. And worse, he'd have
to listen to Ecthelion's sanctimonious diatribe on the evils of mead
and the responsibilities of command. The thought only made
Theoden's head hurt worse.
Comments from Wes Fortin
========================
>I just had an encounter in the Rhun area in a 1650 game. [Brian --
>you may have already seen my post on r.g.pbm about this.] I
>originally thought it was a vampire even though the options were
>different, but someone suggested it may be an ent. The "errand"
>refered to may be the search for entwives. What do you think?
>Here's the description...
>
>He is at camp when a sudden chill passes through him and a shadow
>momentarily obscures the stars overhead. Alert and ready for
>action, he scanned the surrounding terrain but could see nothing.
>Then from out of the night he heard a hollow voice. "Little do I
>like others so near to where my errands take me! Speak, lest I
>silence you forever."
>
>ATTACK the speaker
>declare your ALLEGIANCE
>INTERROGATE the speaker about the errand
>APOLOGIZE for the intrusion
>REQUEST information
>WAIT and say nothing
>say __________
>FLEE
Had that encounter a few times - it IS a vampire!
As for troop types. GSI should either just have two (infantry or
cav), or make the other types more cost effective. Historically,
the big difference between heavy and light troops was training and
equipment. GSI seperates training and equipment quality as seperate
functions. So, why bother having light troops in the system? They
cost too much for their affectiveness.
As for archers and men-at-arms. These tended to be more mobile.
Men at arms were basically cannon fodder with a spear (peasants) or
mercenaries. They should cost nothing to maintain. Archers were
very valuable because they could attack BEFORE there enemy closed
ranks with it's cav and HI. Archers would devestate cav charges and
soften the ranks of the footsoldiers by raining arrows on them. In
MEPBM, archers are hacked to shreds. I think GSI needs to pump up
archers a bit more - perhaps by giving them one or two rounds of
attack BEFORE attackers close with them - thus giving them the range
advantage they need.
I'd also like to see more in the way of guerilla warfare. Archers
hit a cav column then run away before the troops can get to them -
etc.
More thoughts on troop types:
I also think the game would be enhanced by differenciating troops
more.
For example:
- - give elephant riders a better overrun chance
- - All trolls get the equivalant of leather armor and bronze
weapons at no extra cost (materials) to reflect their toughness.
- - dwarves get a constitution bonus
- - elven armies get a combat bonus (they were quite impressive in
the Tolkein books!)
- - elves get more movement points, dwarves get fewer
- - riders of rohan/Eothraim spend less to maintain cav
etc.
- - Woodmen get bonuses for evasion (that fabled stealth!)
- - Men at arms cost nothing to maintain (except food) for Dark
Servants (ain't conscription great!)
In short, make each nation much more different than now. At
present, a troll is just as good as a human, elf, or dwarf. I
wouldn't want to fight one! It also makes some of the battles from
Tolkein more possible. Hordes of orcs (MA) would be a very viable
alternative to the poor DS nations and those armies could be
supplimented by trolls.
This would also give another dynamic to the combat that would make
it more fun to play certain positions.
Everyone has gone on forever about how overpowered agents are. I
agree. As Tom pointed out, no one got assassinated in Tolkeins
books. How is a single being going to steal the tons of gold?
Agents should be sabatoers and scouts/info gatherers (though Steal
Artifact is also reasonable). Any thing else is just abusive.
Middle Earth was saved by army action and one lucky hobbit - not by
dread assassins slaying national leaders.
Comments Concerning Men-at-Arms
===============================
By Darren Beyer
With all the talk of Men at Arms and mercenaries I thought I'd
contribute a few thoughts. It seems that GSI treats Men at Arms as
mercenaries. I don't like this because it implies that all
mercenaries are poor troops. Historically this was not at all the
case, German Landsneckt and Swiss Pikeman were prime examples elite
mercenaries that were the betters of most regulars. "Men at Arms"
should be just that, the poorly trained, non-professional soldiers.
So what to do about mercenaries?
Mercenaries should not be a separate type of troops, they should be
a separate "class" of troops. Mercenaries were typically expensive
to hire and maintain, but were extra troops available to a commander
when he had exhausted other resources or needed some extra muscle.
Consider the following idea for the handling of mercenaries:
Mercenaries would be recruited with orders separate from normal
recruitment (i.e. you would have one order for each Merc HC, Merc
LC, Merc HI, Merc LI, etc.). Additionally mercenary troops would be
kept separate from regular troops (i.e. you could have regular HI
and merc HI kept in the same army and treated as two different troop
types. To reflect the cost invloved with hiring mercenaries, the
merc hiring orders would be associated with a cost equal to a
multiplier of turn of maintenance for the troop type hired (i.e.
you would be paying the maintenace starting on the turn of hiring
rather than starting the turn after). Additionally mercenaries
would be more expensive than their regular troop counter parts
(possibly a 1.5x cost modifier/turn). Also, since mercenaries
aren't "permanent" they would not contribute to a player's army
victory points. A 1.5 cost? Gold on the turn of hiring? Don't
count toward VP's? Why would I want Mercenaries?
Mercenaries, almost by definition, are trained fighters. If they
weren't they wouldn't be alive to be mercenaries! Mercenaries would
begin with a high training rank (possibly 30-40). This would be
constant for all nations (just because the Noldo, who start with 25
trng, hire some mercenary heavy infantry, doesn't mean those same
mercenaries would be any better for them than say the Dragon Lord).
The big advantage for mercenaries is that they could be hired IN
ADDITION to other troops recruited at the pop center, but would be
limited to 1/2 the normal recruitment limit (i.e. you could recruit
400 regular HI at a major town and recruit an additional 200
mecenaries in the same turn). Armies could not be "hired" with
mercenaries.
To add some spice you could incorporate the ideas seen in Mouth 31
such as having the possibility of vacilating mercenaries or those
that simply choose not to participate in the battle.
Mercenaries were a big part of medieval armies, but are basically
non-existant in MEPBM. They should be. I guess its another thing
to add to the MEPBM wish list.
My Thoughts on Various Subjects
===============================
by Kevin McGee
E-mail Turns
------------
For someone such as myself who has a PC running Windows and an AOL
account, the sending and receiving of ME-PBM turns by e-mail
couldn't be simpler. Without getting into the advantages and
disadvantages of AOL over other services; free or otherwise, (I have
4 e-mail accounts; AOL, CI$, work - gsfc.nasa.gov and school - -
apl.jhu.edu) I find myself using AOL the most for my hobbies. I
will concede to all the users of other services that I do not use
AOL for anything on the Internet beyond mail. However, back to the
subject of GSI ME-PBM E-mail turns. The joy of having a crucial
turn processed on Wednesday and being able to see the results that
evening is incredible. Add to this the awesome capability that my
teammates and I can now see each other's turns within hours of them
being distributed.
Are there disadvantages? Certainly. For myself they are very few.
Is GSI making a killing on me? Yes and I hope that they adjust
prices for e-mail players, otherwise I may move on to PBEM games
that cost $2.50 per turn (such as Olympia). Is GSI's method of
transmitting the turns the most efficient? Absolutely not. GSI
sends me a .pdf (Portable Document Format) file that runs about 90
Kbytes as a file attached to an e-mail message. It takes around 90
- 100 seconds to download. It takes about 10 seconds to forward it
to my teammates. Remember, GSI is a Mac shop, maybe it's the best
they can do. I think that they were looking for a method that would
be easiest (read smallest changes) for them and accessible to the
most people. I can't say if they met either goal. But for me the
bottom line is - I love it. If you want to continue to receive your
turns by USPS, go for it!
ME 2950; Is it disappointing?
-----------------------------
I am of two minds when I think about ME 2950. The idealist in me is
mightily disappointed with what was done with the new scenario. GSI
took the broad, sweeping canvas and colorful palette of Middle Earth
and composed a quick charcoal sketch. Most of the differences
between ME 1650 and ME 2950 are so small as to be cosmetic. The
only changes that are significant are the ones to each country's
starting pop centers and armies. But those changes give the 2950
scenario a new flavor, at least for the first 15 turns.
The pragmatist in me sees a successful product that has been altered
enough to rekindle the flagging interest of some of the customer
base. If you were Bill Feilds, would you do a massive rewrite of
one of the most popular PBM games on the market? The investment in
time and dollars to bring a PBM game to market is substantial.
Perhaps, for various reasons, he was not willing to significantly
alter a popular design and risk the investment needed for a
redesign. I don't know, I am not defending GSI, but neither will I
deride them. ME-PBM is not perfect, but it is a fun, playable game.
PBM designers vary in their responsiveness to players' suggestions.
GSI does not seem to be very responsive at all. Again, from a
pragmatic standpoint, it may be too expensive to change ME-PBM to
reflect players' ideas no matter how insightful or clever they are.
Even the companies that are responsive to player input often can't
hold my attention long enough to implement changes. I find that I
play PBM games for about three years, sometimes less. It has been
like that since Crane I. By the time I have played a game enough to
thoroughly understand it and be able to offer meaningful design
tweaks, my fuse is down to 18 - 24 months. Even if the company
could evaluate my proposals and implement them in six months, I'm
almost done playing the game anyway. I not saying that critiquing
game designs and offering PBM designers feedback is futile, or
wasted effort. I'm just telling you why I don't really dabble in
that for games that are already released. I much prefer to do that
in the playtest stage.
As to Jeff Holzhauer's comment that he found the Woodmen position
boring, I would ask Jeff this; Do you find the Woodmen position
boring or is your FP team lacking in coordination and thereby making
it boring? I am playing in several games and the two that I am
enjoying the least are games in which I joined alone and the FP are
not well organized. The other games I am in are all team games and
they are very exciting. IMHO, ME-PBM is a team game and if your
side does not start as a team or evolve into one, you will probably
lose and it will most likely be boring. In the FP team games I am
in the Woodmen are fighting the Dragon Lord and the Witch-king tooth
and nail. And in all three the DS in Mirkwood and the Misty
Mountains are in deep kimchi. Of course, the other FP are helping
considerably. Gold, material, armies, characters, timely use of
the Mantle of Doriath, FP curse squads. In one of these games the
FP are financing a Woodmen army of 2000 HI. Frankly, I'm having a
ball in those game and the Woodmen seem to be too. Of course,
biting your fingernails up to your elbows is exciting for some and
stressful for others.
ME-PBM Web Page
---------------
I've seen the Web page maintained by Phredd Groves. It looks really
good. Nice work, Phredd.
King Tarondor's Ride
--------------------
Excellent fiction, Jon. I enjoyed reading it.
Population Center Combat
------------------------
This is one of the best reasons to subcribe to the Mouth. Expert
analysis presented in a easy to use form. This is going up next to
my ME-PBM map.
The War of the Ring: A Proposal
-------------------------------
I like the ideas Tom proposed. It would be tough to balance, but
certainly not impossible. GSI's product is not very complex and the
combat system is damn close to "hand waving." I would enjoy a
detailed, grand tactical treatment of the combat described in the
triology. But won't character development also have to be dumped
given a 48 week time scale?
Would I play it? Absolutely. At least once. ;-)
Would I pay for it? Good chance.
More Commentary
===============
>From Ken Lee
Hello to all, firstly I must congregate everyone (especially
Tom and Brian) who have written in the Mouth because I think it one
of the best read (for free) around and I can not even begin to tell
you how much it has help me in my game.
I am actually writing in Australia, so anyone who is playing
this game and has access to the Mouth, could they please write to me
on kelee@st.nepean.uws.edu.au. I am playing the Sinda Elves in game
2 and is going to play the Cloud Lord in game 4 when that gets
going. As you can see, there isn't many of us playing this game in
Australia.
All personal stuff a side, now I would like to put my two
cents in. Since the beginning of the I have found that Men-At-Arm
and the two types of light troops are almost useless. It take twice
as long and twice the material to recruit them when you could just
recruiting heavy troops and save time and resouces. I think that GSI
really could do something about this. I feel the best way is to add
one to the two light troops. Hence, two light troops could gang up
on one heavy troop and beat him (which to me make more sence).
Archers, I feel is a different matter as you see in this
table. It is a table of weapon rank vs troop strength. I have taken
the command rank, morale rank and training ranking all to be 30, and
almost everything else to 100. Also there are 300 troops of each
type.
Weapon Heavy Light Heavy Light Archer Men-At-Arm
Rank Cavalry Cavalry InfantryInfantry
===========================================================
0 2760 1380 1725 863 - 345
10 2880 1440 1800 900 - 360
30 3120 1560 1950 975 - 390
60 3480 1740 2175 1088 1305 435
100 3960 1980 2475 1238 - 495
You may say, so what is so special about this? If you look at
the cost of an archer (2 gold) vs the cost of heavy cavalry (6 gold)
and the cost of heavy infantry (4 gold), you may see a different
side to thing. For the cost of 300 cavalry, you could hire 900
archers which could give you the strength of 3915. By my
calculation, you would need a weapon rank of about 92 for the heavy
cavalry to match this! For the heavy infantry, it is no different,
600 archers = 2610 strength which is more then any heavy infantry
which cost the same to beat even at a weapon rank of 100.
Now tell me how many nations is going to have all of these
metal to equip their troops (not the Sinda Elves!). So if you have
time to recuite men, I feel that archer is a good buy. The problem
is of course the time needed to recuit these men, the food they
consume and they are never around long at all as shown in this
table.
Armor Heavy Light Heavy Light Archer Men-At-Arm
Rank Cavalry Cavalry InfantryInfantry
===========================================================
0 4800 2400 3000 1500 600 600
10 5280 2640 3300 1650 660 660
30 6240 3120 3900 1950 780 780
60 7680 3840 4800 2400 960 980
100 9600 4800 6000 3000 1200 1200
I really feel that any metal in store, it should go toward
armor and not weapon. You could hire archers with no resources at
all but don't waste armor on archers, hire some heavy troops who can
get more benefit out of it. Also too, there is only one other way to
effect your constitution, magic. There are a lot more ways to change
your strength. ie. war machines, artifact....
Another way which you could make archers better is to let them
attack an army adjacent to them. Here is the rules and requirments
for this to happen...
1. The enemy army must be adjacent to the archers. ie. Too
close to shot if in the same hex. And a direction must be given.
2. The archers strength is half (even a third or a fourth) of
its normal strength. ie. Not as accurate. If more than one army (see
5) is present, then this is divided again. You can not pick who you
fire at.
3. Any movement order to the army/navy will fail. ie. the
archers must stand its ground and to stop a archers from hit and
run.
4. This order can not effect an army that is in a pop. cnt.
with fortification, a forest hex, a mountain hex or a hill hex. ie.
Too much protection for arrows to be effective. This order can not
reduced fortification either.
5. Can only fire if enemy is present. If only allies is in the
hex, then the order is ignored. If both are present, then the
archers will fire and the allies army take a fouth (or a fifth
depending on 2) of the damage.
6. And of course, archers must be present in the army.
I would put this order in 265 called Use Archers, coded
usearc. I feel this make a lot of sense since now, the archers can
do what archers do best, taking enemy down at distances. I have
place this order after all of the other army attack order because
during a fight, archers can not pick out their targets properly.
In concludion, I would say that archers are not as bad as they
seem, but only recuiting them is almost a death wish.
I could see how they can change the archers a little, too.
Maybe they can fight better and move faster in forest. It almost
pains me to see my elven archers being cut down like they were
nothing by a mob of orcs.
I am only up to turn six in the game, so I can't help you much
with the climate, but here is what I have got.
Spring:-
@ 2908 - Cool
@ 2608 - Cool
@ 2514 - Warm
@ 2413 - Warm
@ 2325 - Warm
@ 2709 - Cool
@ 4413 - Cool
Anyway, there is my two cents and keep up the good work
everybody.
Also from Ken:
I have reasons to believe that the encouter which the child is
crying near the lake could give you different result depending on
your luck. Last turn, I have a character hearing a faint cry from
a child past a small lake. By the encounter list you have, I should
only encounter the Mewlip, but that was only half right.
Fortunatly for me, I have another character in the same hex,
so I made a `forced' encounter with him. I made both of the
characters SEARCH for the voice. The result? Well the character who
react normally to the voice got ambushed by the Mewlip. She survived
and escaped badly wounded (with a health of 74?)
The character who `forced' the encouter found the small child
and return the child the a camp need by and the camp leader gave my
character 12600 gold pieces with no skill rank improvement for both.
So what do you make out of that?
Also, if an agent fail to do his/her order. Is there any
"rule" as to what chance they have of surviving? And if they do, is
there any way to tell about how much damage they may get? Does some
of the orders gives a better chance to surviving? Maybe you can ask
to readers to send some info to the Mouth?
MEPBM AS A MILITARY SIMULATION
==============================
By James Vigil
Although I am relatively new to the MEPBM game (it's my
first PBM) I have some comments about how the game can be improved
as a military and political simulation.
First off, the most despairing thing I heard from another player
soon after I joined my first game was the counsel "don't build
anything but heavy infantry." Indeed the most common army in the
game is an all-heavy infantry mob with wooden weapons.
This may be appropriate to a Dark Ages mediaeval simulation, but I
have always considered the Tolkien world to be a much more complex
and cosmopolitan place, what with all the different races, magic,
history, etc. The Free Peoples armies should resemble the more
articulated armies of the Ancient World, such as the Macedonian army
under Alexander and the successors, or the armies of the Roman
Republic or Empire. They win by being better organized and
commanded. The Dark Servants, on the other hand, benefit from sheer
numbers and ferocity.
You won't see any of this complexity in a typical MEPBM game.
Tolkien enthusiasts will be amazed to see Dark Servant armies
consisting of all Troll Heavy Infantry with nary an orc in sight.
And all the heavy infantry is equal on a one-for-one basis.
Here are some broad suggestions on how to give the armies more
character and make them truer to the vision of the Tolkien world.
These changes could be easily accomplished without changing the
overall system very much.
First off, make each nations recruiting area (the starting
population center locations) the only place they can recruit
non-merc troop types. At the start of the game, each nation's
recruiting area is defined as being within two hexes of each town,
major town and city. Outside of these areas, only mercenaries can
be raised.
Second, make non-mercenary troops less expensive to maintain than
mercenaries once raised, but require that their creation cost gold.
This is a cost above and beyond the existing "army creation" cost.
For example, 500 heavy infantry will cost 2000 gold to raise in an
existing army on a city, but will cost only one gold a turn to
maintain. Mercenaries will cost nothing to raise, but will cost two
gold a turn to maintain.
The purpose of these first two rules will be to encourage a more
realistic model of military recruiting and maintenance. Regular
troop creation is expensive and is based on an existing system of
barracks, training grounds and recruiting systems that seeks to
create soldiers who are well trained and motivated. These troops
are more expensive to create, but cost less to maintain.
Men-at-arms, on the other hand, cost nothing to raise, but are a
real drain on the treasury because they are motivated soley by
lucre, not patriotism.
Third, get rid of all or nothing battles. Instead, the losing
armywill "break" when its morale drops below a certain level,
causing the soldiers to run towards the nearest friendly supply
source along the route of least resistance. Have the computer
handle this. Example: 2000 North Gondor troops defeat an army of
3500 under the Fire King. Assume that Gondor's troops were
betterarmed and trained and that the Fire King's army had abysmal
morale. Gondor loses 2-300 troops, but the Fire King's army
"breaks" after taking some losses. The losing army gathers 1-14
movement points away, going as far as it can towards a population
center of its allegiance or nation, where the survivors regroup,
their morale even lower than before!
Add a new order called Attack and Pursue. This will allow armies
to "follow-up" their opponents for a certain distance along their
path of retreat. For each hex followed, they inflict more losses on
their hapless foes. The downside of this is that they may pursue
themselves out of the action.
Certain nations will have a more impetuous tendency to get out of
hand unless they have strong commanders (e.g. orc armies).
Conversely, even a well-trained army ordered to pursue to fail to do
so because of poor leadership and stop to pillage the enemy baggage!
Add a new order called Delay. This will allow an all-cavalry army
to fall back before a foe that is not all-cavalry, slowing them down
but taking few losses themselves.
Fourth, differentiate the troop types more. A "rock-scissors-paper"
model would be appropriate. Unsupported heavy infantry is
outmatched by enemy light infantry. Light infantry is ridden down
by heavy cavalry. Etc., etc.
Fifth, differentiate the racial troop types more. For example,
allow the Dwarves to create heavy infantry at a training rank of 30
to reflect their aptitude for this type of army. Sinda Elves could
create archers at a higher training rank and, perhaps, even higher
combat values. Orcs value is in numbers, so allow the Dark Servants
to recruit double the amount of, e.g, Orc light infantry, at a
population center. However, make training of Orcs much more
difficult (e.g. only 1-2 points of increase per commander attempt).
Allow the nations in Harad to recruit Mumak-riders. These troops
will force enemy cavalry to flee, but are themselves vulnerable to
archers.
The list is endless. This would add real flavor to the game for
each nation.
Sixth, I agree wholeheartedly with the comment in the previous
Mouth of Sauron that Emissaries should be able to affect army
morale.
Seventh, army morale should affect movement as well as combat.
Force marches should not be limited to 14 movement points. Increase
it to 17 movement points. However, the additional force march
points are awarded only if an army is supplied and has high morale.
Otherwise, they go some distance, but not the whole amount.
Eight, attrition. Armies that have low morale should begin to lose
troops each turn to desertion. Double the desertion loss for
men-at-arms. Allow enemy emissaries to affect armies with
"defeatist" talk that encourages troops to desert.
Ninth, bribery of troops. Allow emissaries to bribe enemy
mercenaries to switch sides before a battle or ride off.
Tenth, have battlefield events affect the strategic situation. In
the Tolkien world, loss of a major battle would affect the morale of
the home front. Have a battlefield loss or victory affect
population center loyalty the same way a tax increase or decrease
would, with the larger the battle having the greater effect. Make
battles where armies are commanded by major leaders (e.g. Regents,
etc.) have an even greater effect.
This way, battles will become major events to a nation. No longer
will nations throw their troops forward willy nilly. Of course,
small battles should have little or no effect on morale on large
population centers. Have them affect camps. The big towns are
affected by big battles, etc.
Eleventh, have some naturalistic effects added to the game: plagues,
floods in the rivers during springtime, snowfall blocking the
passes, triple attrition for troops without food in the desert
unless they are adjacent to a river, etc. Again, these would be
reasonable events that would fit into the logic of the game.
Twelfth, I agree that agents have WAY, WAY, WAY too much impact in
this game! Make assasinations EXTREMELY hard and give agents a
range of orders more related to intelligence gathering. A
successful assasination can occur against a well-guarded leader, but
that should be only where an assasin is ready to trade one-for-one,
his life for the target's. Assassins should be able to succeed, but
increase the chance they get killed themselves.
However, if an assasination does occur, and it is of a major
character, then it should have an effect like a battlefield loss on
the morale of the grieving nation. OR, to spice things up it could
just get them madder!
As you can see, I think there are many, many ways to improve this
game without making it more complex.
Erkenbrand's Rescue
===================
Dave Rossell
A shout, then a babble of noises arose from the street outside
the window.
Oh gods, thought Erkenbrand, not another bread riot. That would
make the third one during as many fortnights of captivity.
Erkenbrand glared at his three guards, each of whom looked back
sullenly. "And to think there is an agent of the Enemy and his
henchmen operating just outside Minas Tirith, and Ecthelion doesn't
even know, never mind mount a rescue operation for the man who had
recruited the ents and saved Osgiliath."
The three guards sneered at these words and one of them walked
toward the window to see what all the commotion was about.
It took him a couple of heartbeats to see all he needed to see.
He darted over to his companions for a furtive conference. Moments
later, they were heading out the door, bolting it behind them.
"Now what scared them?" muttered Erkenbrand as he rose to check
the view for himself.
"Well, well, well, no wonder they ran." Standing there, bold as
a stallion in Spring, was Argirion of Gondor with his retinue. He
strode up to the front of the seedy inn where Erkenbrand was
imprisoned while the poor forming a nervous half-circle around him
and his soldiers. Feet wide apart, arms crossed, he bellowed, "I
understand that there is a cowardly, scum-eating character named
Ufgamog staying at this pathetic rat-trap you call an inn. If he
doesn't come out now, I'll burn the place down around him and his
henchmen. The building is surrounded, there will be no escape. He
has a choice, he can face me in personal combat, or cook like a bug
in a fire."
As if on cue, some Gondorian troops broke out pitch and began
smearing the walls with it. Other soldiers lit torches. Very
impressive display, Erkenbrand thought. They must have rehearsed
it. Argirion did indeed seem perfectly willing to burn down half of
Osgiliath, especially the poor quarter, in order to kill one of Ji
Indur's agents and a few of his henchmen.
Very interesting, thought Erkenbrand. He opened the shutters
wider and leaned on the sill. At least I have a good view. And I
can always try to climb down of Argirion really does fire the place.
For a while, it looked as though that was going to happen. Then the
inn door opened and Ufgamog staggered out, clearly pushed from the
inn by the other residents (and maybe some of his henchmen).
Ufgamog recovered some of his aplomb by spitting on Argirion's boots
and drawing a sword.
"Only in Gondor, " said Erkenbrand shaking his head slowly, "do
they apprehend criminals by challenging them to personal combat.
Why not just surround the place with 100 troopers, and break in with
another 50? None of this silly grandstanding. Hm. But maybe this
is supposed to impart some sort of lesson to the poor. Or maybe he
intends to burn the place anyway as part of some sort of city
renewal project."
The clang and scraping of blades clashing ended Erkenbrand's
musings. Ufgamog clearly didn't have a chance. Argirion cut and
parried like a master, taking only glancing blows in return. After
just a few moments Ufgamog was bleeding from more places than
Erkenbrand could count. "I don't suppose Argirion knows the virtues
of merc--, guess not," Erkenbrand said as the Gondorian beat aside
Ufgamog's blade and plunged his own sword into the agent's chest.
The calls and cheers stopped, and a hush fell over the street.
Beggars and laborers looked at each other and shuffled their feet a
bit. Blood everywhere. Buckets of blood, gallons of blood, it
seemed, welling out of Ufgamog's body, flowing over the cobbles.
Eventually, the groundlings stopped staring at the body. Only
then did they see Argirion's lieutennants, all with drawn swords,
all encouraging them to cheer. They cheered. Loudly, wildly.
Argirion, who had been waiting patiently to acknowledge their
accolades, smiled and waved his hand as the crowd dispersed back
through the warrens and alleyways of Osgiliath. Erkenbrand could
see Ufgamog's henchmen slipping away with the upstanding citizens of
Gondor.
Meanwhile, Argirion just stared at the inn, gnawing his lip. "By
the Valar!" said Erkenbrand. "He's thinking of burning the place
down anyway!"
Well, enough was enough. Erkenbrand called out, "Lord Argirion,
I thank you for slaying my captors. Do you suppose you could free
me from this cell before burning my prison?"
Argirion looked up in amazement. "Erkenbrand, is that really
you! We had given you up for lost, thought you were halfway to the
Dark Tower by now!" He gestured to his men, and they rushed inside.
Moments later, Erkenbrand was free, embracing his rescuer in thanks.
"Now, you weren't really thinking of burning down the inn, were
you," said Erkenbrand sotto voice. Argirion grinned. He looked
much older up close, but the smile almost erased the lines etched by
worry and weather.
"Of course not," he said loudly. Then softer, "But it doesn't
hurt to grandstand a bit. You know, show a little bit of the sword,
the strong right arm of Gondor. Then over the next few weeks, clean
up this district, send in food and clothing, fix up buildings, and
we will have won over the hearts and minds of the populace."
Erkenbrand shook his head and grinned back. "We men of Rohan are
a bit more straightforward in our methods." They turned and walked
back toward the army together, aides and lietennants in tow.
Erkenbrand rubbed his nose and glanced sidelong at the Gondorian.
"You, ah, did know I was there, didn't you?"
Argirion's grin turned absolutely wicked, but he didn't say a
word.
Questions for Bill Feild
========================
>From Brian Mason
Recently, I sent a series of questions to Bill Feild. Most of these
were simply clarifications, however, some of these may be of some
interest to the readers, so I will enclose both the question and
answer.
1. In both of my 2950 games (3 & 22) we saw the maps revert to the
1650 locations for those positions. Is this a permanent switch or an
error? Can the correct maps be generated for this past turn (to
track troop movement)?
1) The incorrect maps last turn occured for a few of the 2950
games as was not intentional! We corrected the error as soon as it
was detected (over a week ago).
If you wish to have correct map sent to you, drop us an email
note (with security code) to that effect, or give as a fax number
and we will fax a copy at no charge.
2. Is it true that, for population center combat, tactics do not
matter? If this is so, then is the average troop modifier for
population center combat only an average of three numbers (training
rank, weapon rank, and troop terrain modifier)?
2) Page 59 of the rules indicates that tactics are not part of
the pop center combat resolution. Only the remaining 3 factors are
considered and averaged.
3. Can you use a hiding artifact to hide somebody elses population
center? If you do so, is it hidden from them or you or everybody but
them?
3) Yes, you can hide a pop center of another nation. It is
treated just like any other hidden pop center - it is hidden to
everyone except that nation. Of course, you can lift the 'hidden'
whenever you wish...
4. Orders 400 to 412 states that "If there are not enough armor or
weapons, if desired, then the armor/weapons for the recruits will be
changed accordingly." This seems to imply to me that for example,
formerly, if you attempted to used order 408 (HvInfan) recruiting
300 with bronze/bronze as weapon and armor, and there were only 300
total bronze in the hex then you would bet 150 bronze/bronze troops.
As I interpret it now, you would get 300 troops. However, would they
come out as 150 bronze/bronze, and 150 wood/none or 300 bronze/none,
or 300 wood/bronze?
4) The 400-412 orders work the way they always have - the
rulebook in an earlier edition was incorrect. Thus, in your example,
you would get 300 troops and they would come out as 300 bronze/none,
the weapons (300) being allocated first and then the armor (none
left)
5. Do combat artifacts and offensive/defensive effect army combat on
all "rounds" of army combat or only the first round?
5) Artifacts and spells all affect only once during combat per
turn, the first round being the one they would show up in.
True of Heart
=============
By Tom Walton
Author's note: I actually wrote the first version of this story
almost three years ago, soon after I joined my first ME-PBM game.
That version was so bad - I mean, truly terrible - I threw the whole
thing out. Six months later I went back and wrote what follows. I
recently rediscovered it on my drive while doing some housecleaning
and thought to print it here ('hey! we'll print anything! and this
proves it!').
It isn't exactly a masterpiece but I think it's passable. The idea
behind the story is a simple one: that even the truly evil in
Tolkien's world are in some manner heroic (who couldn't admire the
Witch-King when he faced off with Gandalf at the gates of Minas
Tirith?). And in this case, the heroism arises from the
hopelessness of the Nazgul, treacherously enslaved by Sauron against
their will. Power-hungry, cruel, yes; but did they have any idea of
the price they'd ultimately pay?
The Great Hall of Barad-Dur was a place of simple design, its
walls unadorned by the hideous images that ran through most of the
ancient citadel. No runes of power were engraved upon the
flagstones, no gibbering demons lurked in the shadows; yet of all
the places in Mordor, it was the most feared by the servants of the
Dark Lord. Even the Nazgul dreaded entering the Hall, for it was
here that Sauron, King of Men, held court over his empire.
Uvatha, last of the Nine, knew that his audience with his
Master would be unpleasant. He had failed in his mission, and so
would be punished. The prospect terrified him as nothing else
could; yet despite this, he tried to conceal his unease as he
entered the Hall and strode up the long columned aisle to stand
before the black marble throne.
Halting some dozen feet from the raised dais, he looked up at
the shadow that pooled upon the high seat. Sauron had failed to
take a form, a sign that he was especially angry; the darkness was
unbroken save for two red orbs which stared relentlessly down upon
the Long Rider. A touch of power brushed Uvatha's mind, commanding
him, and he knelt before the throne, head bent in supplication.
"You've displeased me." The voice was cold as ice, and laced
with venom.
"I ask your forgivenness." Uvatha's reply was barely a
whisper.
"Forgiveness? I do not forgive. Another chance, perhaps, but
never forgiveness. You've shown weakness, and this I cannot have in
my servants."
Another touch of Sauron's will, and the memory of Uvatha's
failure blossomed to life in his mind. He saw himself once again,
standing upon the field of victory with his army all about him. The
defeated remnants of the tribes that had dared to defy Mordor,
horsemen of the Great Eastern Plains, were gathered together in a
fearful huddle, staring at him in unbridled terror. It was with
good reason that they did so, for Uvatha was known to decimate his
foes as an example to others. They had no hope that this time would
be any different.
He had walked to the foremost and grabbed a small child, a
boy, to slay him by his own hand and so signal his army to fall upon
the prisoners. Raising his sword, he had looked upon the boy's
face, and that was when weakness took him.
"Yes, you see your mistake." Sauron's words cut through the
memory dimly.
The boy had a face that Uvatha remembered from his mortal
days, before he had taken the ring from Sauron; the visage of his
youngest son, dead from sickness after only seven summers. The
resemblance was so strong that for a moment he faltered in confusion
and let the boy go, watching him run back to his mother.
A long while passed as he stood still and silent before the
cowering plainsmen, locked in an internal struggle between servitude
and human memories. Emotions which had been dead in him for
centuries erupted to life, overwhelming him; and he found that he
did not know how to fight this battle. His struggles weakened, then
died, and as they did he slowly sheathed his sword and turned to his
gathered lieutenants. Briefly, he commanded that the prisoners be
banished to the Northern Wastes, never again to return, and that
they be allowed to travel unmolested from the plains. It was the
first time that Uvatha had ever spared his enemies, and his warriors
were stunned; but they didn't dare question him.
"Weakness," Sauron's words seethed with menace. "Compassion.
Your failure was the first among the Ulairi, an act of mercy. It
cannot be tolerated."
The memory faded, and Uvatha waited silently for Sauron to
pronounce his punishment.
"Fortunately I've a way in which you can redeem yourself in my
service."
No word was spoken, but two orcs appeared from a side
entrance, a small figure held between them. They approached the
throne, allowing Uvatha a better look at their prisoner. He came to
his feet, and again the confusion washed over him; for the prisoner
was none other than the boy he had seen on the battlefield.
"Yes. Your brother Ren tracked down the family as they fled
north and stole him away." Uvatha could hear the cruel humor creep
into his Master's voice. "I thought it appropriate that you restore
my faith in you through that which shook it."
Sauron paused, and Uvatha was struck with dread.
"Slay him."
The sword was in his hand before he consciously became aware
of it, poised above the boy's bare neck. He could see the horror
and loathing in the young face, not for Uvatha but for the thing
that coiled upon the throne. Even imminent death was less
terrifying than the Dark Lord.
Uvatha raised up the sword to strike, then stopped, his limbs
unaccountably frozen.
"Slay him!"
Again Uvatha tried to strike, and could not.
"Obey me!"
Images swirled in his mind, drowning out the voice of his
Master. He saw again his son, dead so many lifetimes ago, and only
faintly heard the protest of his sword as it skittered across the
flagstones, falling from his hand. For a timeless moment, it seemed
as if his very soul cried out in pain, torn once again by the mortal
passions that flared back from embers to raging flame; then the
shadows fell away and his mind cleared. Not as it had been, but as
it was before he'd taken up the Dark Lord's cursed ring. Memories
of his ancient past had ripped Sauron's foul influence from his
mind, banishing dark sorcery, and for the first time in millennia
Uvatha was free.
Hatred long-suppressed seized him, fury over Sauron's betrayal
and deception. The Maia had stolen his mortal life and condemned
him to hell, the eternal torture of undeath; he longed to exact
vengeance. Slowly, he looked up at Sauron and smiled, murder in his
voice. "No longer will I do your bidding."
The Dark Lord's rage exploded outward to choke the hall, yet
something else was also present, something that smelled like fear.
Uvatha could feel Sauron's will bearing down on him, but he stood
his ground against it as he never could before.
"Your hold is broken, *master*. You cannot command me any
more." He laughed, and the sound of it sent the orcs fleeing.
"You'll have to slay me, for I will not serve you."
The shadow facing him hesitated before replying. "I think you
will, Uvatha. My power over you is complete. Now pick up your
sword."
"I won't. I reject you, as I should have done when I first
laid eyes on you."
A sigh issued from the blackness, mocking Uvatha's defiance.
"Only the true of heart can resist my will, Uvatha, and you
sold your soul to me an age ago. Do you truly think you could free
yourself from me? Do you forget the babes that you have slain, the
innocent men and women that you've tortured? Have you no memory of
the evil you've committed in my service? Do you think that the
thousands that have perished by your hand have forgiven you your
sins?
"You're damned, Uvatha, damned by your own hand, and that make
you mine for eternity. I will take you back; the Nine will not
become Eight".
"I'll die first."
"We shall see."
And with that the battle of wills began.
In the depths of Barad-Dur, the Mouth was the first to feel
the titanic struggle taking place above him. Immediately he raced
for the stairs and began climbing the long flights to the Great
Hall, readying himself to defend his master from whatever dared to
challenge him. Outside the sky had darkened as Sauron's power
gathered, and beneath his feet the very foundations of the citadel
shuddered.
Away in Imladris, Elrond paused in council and cocked his head
as if listening, while upon the shores of southern Gondor Gandalf
climbed upon a small hillock and stared east, as if trying to see
over the mountains that loomed in the distance. In other places,
those who were among the wise also became unaccountably troubled,
their spirits darkened by a sudden foreboding.
The Mouth continued upward, pausing only when the tower
swayed; he could hear the cries of panic as orcs and men fled to the
lower levels and out onto the pitted courtyard. Lightning flared
from the top of the high tower, again and again, lighting up the
valley until it seemed that the violence of the battle would shatter
the citadel and rip the earth asunder.
But before he reached the stairwell's end, the struggle began
to diminish and the power disperse. By the time he reached the
entrance to the Hall, the conflict was over, the sky once again
clear through the arrow slits. Pausing at the threshold, he looked
in and saw only Uvatha, standing before Sauron with a sword in his
hand; and upon the sword writhed a young boy, not yet dead.
Sauron spoke, and the Mouth drew back into the shadows, hiding
himself; the words he heard chilled him.
"Yes, Uvatha, you're still mine. I want you to remember this
during all the days of your slavery, this brief moment of freedom.
"I want you to remember, so that your agony and despair will
be all the sweeter to me, each time I gaze upon you. I bound you
not once, but twice; and never will there be a third time. You'll
not challenge my word again.
"Come and serve me, Uvatha.'
With that, the Ringwraith drove his sword deeper into the boy.
* * *
Some years later, while the armies of Sauron mustered against
the pitiful remnants of the Stone-Land, and his servants readied
themselves for the final conflict between good and evil, Uvatha the
Ringwraith searched the desolate hills north of Gondor for sign of
he who carried the One. He knew that a halfling, a frail creature
of little power, possessed his Master's greatest treasure; and now
from the back of his fell-beast he scanned the steep hills, certain
that the One was close.
In this he proved to be right. The Long Rider, whose eyes
were least changed by unlife, spotted two small figures struggling
up the rocky slopes. Around the neck of one was an object bright in
the world of Shadow, a thing that called to Uvatha and beckoned him.
He knew it immediately, though he had yet to hold it, or truly, to
lay eyes on it; for it was the One Ring, the master of that which he
wore.
The valley echoed with his shriek of triumph as brought his
fell-beast about to drop upon his prey. Below, the two hobbits
cowered and searched the skies, desperately seeking to hide from the
hunter. In but a few moments, the quest of the Nine would be over,
and Uvatha would be winging his way back to Barad-Dur with a prize
beyond imagining. Soon none would be able to stand against the
might of Sauron.
It was Uvatha the Nazgul that laid hand upon sword and
prepared to dive into the attack; and it was Uvatha the Nazgul who
gathered the strength to call to his brethren to share in the
victory. But it was Uvatha the man who reached forth past the
prison of his mind to battle Sauron's sorcery once again, defying
the Dark Lord's slavery with all his being.
It was Uvatha the man, in those few brief moments, who clouded
the mind and memory of Uvatha the Ringwraith, and taking reins in
hand, directed the fell-beast to turn northward. The Uvatha of
Sauron's making forgot what he had seen, and instead continued to
scan the ground as he flew towards Mirkwood, seeking his quarry.
Thus were Frodo and Sam spared, and the fate of Middle-Earth
altered to something less certain. None knew that Uvatha, once a
proud man whose greatest joy was found on horseback, perished in
that short, titanic struggle, leaving only Sauron's servant to
continue on. None also knew that one of Sauron's most terrible
lieutenants had in the end defied him, and in so doing snatched
certain victory from the Dark Lord's grasp. And none knew, not even
the wise, that at the last, Uvatha had been true of heart.
Last Word
=========
>From Brian Mason
A bit on continuing projects. First, thanks to many people,
specifically, Greg Reid, Thomas Meier, Holger Eichmann, Kevin McGee,
Tom Walton, Dennis DeYoung, and Rochelle Newman, the climate
database is nearly complete. All that remains are winter climate
conditions for Arthedain, Dragon Lord, Dog Lord, Blind Sorcerer, Ice
King, Quiet Avenger, Long Rider, Dark Lieutenants, and Dunlendings
and summer climate conditions for the Witch-King. Once these last
few holes are filled in I will give the complete set of results.
The bribe data is getting a bit more complete, but still is thin.
Data on this and major town and city recons is requested.
In what can only be considered a scheduling debacle, I've gotten
myself in too many games, three of which are just getting started at
the time I'll be out of town for three weeks. Now, if GSI email
results came as postscript files I'd be fine, but with Adobe Acrobat
licensing restrictions this is no help for me.
If you hear an overly loud "arrghh!" sometime in the next month
you'll know I let one of my juggling plates break.
Also, we've been getting a bit thin of late with submissions.
Any volunteers?
Brian